Adapting to a new kitchen & @staffscakeclub

We've moved house, which is great - because the house we've brought (like proper grown ups) has got a massive kitchen - in a slightly odd configuration - but it's huge, with exciting things like plugs, and worktop space, and space for a table. The old owners even left a massive bookcase perfect for the cookbooks

We've been in the new house a couple of months, but that have also been mentally buys months so I haven't really done much cooking, let alone big scale baking. I did make a grape jelly the other day, but that was more because I was annoyed we weren't eating the grapes in the fridge and I was in a waste-not want-not kind of mood. It's also handy having Charlotte up the street who could lend me a straining bag, even if we had to google picture to work out to the assemble it (also, only 1 out of 3 supermarkets in Stafford had pectin! I had to send Pete to Tesco on his way home.)

Anyway, a weekend without major things to do resulted in some serious baking:

in my head, when I bake I like to think I'm on a tv program and make sure I have all the ingredient out in front of me.

a couple of methodical hours later:

Ta-da - apple pie cake from The Boy Who Bakes

There's another reason for making a massive cake - I actually hardly ever make one, usually because 2 people can't easily eat a whole cake made for 12-16 people without being very ill. Luckily Jess was coming around for coffee, she's taken some for Neil and I'm sure my office mate Chris will eat some tomorrow....

Which bring me onto exciting news, I'm clearly not alone in this this, little cakes are lovely, but massive wodge slices of cake are much more fun - which is why Charlotte & I have joined The Clandestine Cake Club and we're hosting our first event in Stafford on the 9th of May.

The Fish Graveyard

I suppose I should update you on the fish - we've currently got 3 Isambard*, Nietzsche , Vince - they seem fine. The extreme cold did a few in and they probably need some proper TLC. Anyway - Pete and I were trying to recall other fish we'd had over the years so I started scanning the blog for fish related posts and I came across the fish graveyard from an old bit of my website that still floating around the tubes of the internet... So here it is - in memory of of the valiant pets of old. And for the ones that don't have little grave markers (or dates) Darnell Bertrand Pushkin Heisenburg I should possibly make a marker for the tomb of the unknown goldfish because I'm sure we've forgotten one... .. time for some more fish? Any ideas for names?? *We were slightly uncertain for a while if it was Heisenburg or Isambard that had survived

Man, I'm tierd. I know it's only been my usual weekend at Nero but with such a busy week preceeding it and such a busy day Saturday (stupud Lord Mayor's parade - I've more civic pride then most, but parades annoy me in SimCity where they keep centering on them, they annoy me even more when they drive past work wth loudspeakers blearing). In work again tomorrow - Amazingly the one or two days promised by my boss whern she was away has morphed into 2 solid weeks of work. GRRR - Wish I wasn't so weak willed, and I could say something, but lord knows the money will be helpful. I just keep hoping it won't hurt my project, and I have to be better at making myself work. At least I know more or less what I'm doing with my project. Been on my own this weekend as well, Pete's popped back home to proudly show off his Barista of the Year finalist t-shirt (he came 3rd in the region, lots of calls of Eurovision stylee tactical voting and thewrong shaped jugs - Pete...

Recipe for a perfect day

So today pretty much constitutes a perfect day: Woke up, got some work done, Pete made me coffee, Dave my father in law made breakfast, we set off home fairly early on a beautiful sunny day. On the radio we listened to the Humphrey Littleton memorial concert and decided, using the sat nav to visit Cirencester on the way home. As opposed to actually visiting the town and it's many delis we lay in the sunshine on the grass of the amphitheatre, trying to work out what went where since English Heritage had omitted any information boards. We then went to Waitrose, brought some yummy things for a picnic lunch and dinner, had said picnic overlooking very senic view in Birdlip... ...and decided to go to the cinema. We just made it in time for a showing at the junction 10 showcase, where we hadn't seen a film since I was a student in Staffs. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is an awesome film, in case you were wondering. Then we made it home, spent a bit of time being domestic, aand also fo...

Worm's World

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